TUH: Let us take a moment of silence for our dear friend, Leonardo DiCaprio.
*silence*
TN: Anyway, so we have some exciting news, right Herald?
TUH: We do?
TN: Yep. We'll be releasing a chapter a week now on every Tuesday. It all ends on chapter 26!
TUH: Yaaaaaay (sarcasm).
TN: I have nothing else to say.
DISCLAIMER
Chapter XX
The Loot of a Thousand Worlds
Aboard the Highwind
September 7, 2010
"Okay everyone! We're at the new world!" Kairi shouted from the hangar. Sora crammed the last of his sandwich into his mouth wiped his hands free of the crumbs and bolted to the warp room, ready to explore a new world. The last few days were great, seeing as how he spent them with Kairi in some way or another, but they were cooped up. He needed to get out and find somewhere new to explore, which was this very chance. He was only wondering about what kind of adventure it would be.
Everyone assembled into the warp room, except for Roxas and Naminé, who stayed in their Somebodies' minds. Sora greeted the steel of the room, but was ready to say goodbye as he, Kairi, and Merideth entered their tubes and were beamed to the planet's surface.
HoL:TS
Montressor
September 7, 2010
Sora and the girls arrived in a flash on a rocky landscape. They were atop a very, very high cliff, its bluff looking out to the jagged wastes below. Shrub life was sparse and dotted the land as a cold and harsh wind blew, slapping and pinching their skin. It was afternoon and it was going to become evening soon. Sora looked about and saw a large building down a ways … a building supported out and over the cliff with no foundation beneath. Floating boats, similar to cars, were parked at a dock, and they looked high tech.
"Looks like we're in a futuristic world compared to back home, eh Kai?" Sora asked, already making his way over to the place. A sign loomed closer as they followed him, but he could not read what was written there.
"Well, that should be a nice change from everything. I always wonder what the future was like," Merideth said. As they climbed over the dead earth and rock, the sign could be read. The Benbow Inn.
"Well, it's going to be nighttime anyway. We night as well go on over," Kairi suggested, and so they walked there. The inn itself was old and shabby. It's faded steel walls were rusty and grimy, patchwork and welding adorning most of the outside. The wooden dock was creaky as they walked on it and dark, soapy windows were opaque, letting no light enter or exit. A weak garden somehow produced life out of the lacking soil and a storm was brewing in the skies far away. A chimney puffed out smoke as they entered.
"Oh my—" Kairi began.
"What in the—" Merideth muttered.
"Cool!" Sora exclaimed as they entered the inn. Aside from the different aliens, creatures, and species of life that littered the inn, it was a homely place. First, there were the creatures, which Sora thought were so cool. You had a dog-man sitting at the farthest window, absorbed into books as a waitress (and the only one at that) gave him his food and drink. There were all sorts of creatures. They were green, blue, yellow and red; tall, thick, thin, short; and they all came in different clothes and sounds and lives, all wrapped up into one little inn.
The inside itself was homely. A fireplace roared as the chatter of guests went away. Metal and wooden dishes clinked and clacked while chairs scratched over a wooden floor rubbed soft with age. Decorations of paintings, flowers, china, and other assortments sprawled around the busy room. Tables had used dishes on them and were left with food of bugs and mud and soup with eyes. The girls nearly fainted from all this, but Sora was living out every little boy's dream.
"Ugh, more people?" the waitress said not unkindly.
"Um … hello?" Sora said as she walked over to them. She dried thin and bony hands on a dishtowel slung on a loop of her stained apron. Tangled and messy, brown hair hung in a pony tail while her bangs stuck to her forehead from the sweat she was working up. Dark eyes looked at them and bags circled beneath. She was stressed, obviously.
"How may I help you?" she asked with a forced smile.
"Oh, we just want a room for the coming night," Kairi told her.
"Okay, that's just fine. Right now I'm really busy, so just pay in the morning. For now, enjoy yourselves and if you need food, just call me. Name's Sarah Hawkins," she said firmly, shaking each of their hands before bustling to get some "purp juice" for a prissy old alien in a corner. Sora led them over to a booth next to the dog man who was muttering to himself, bent over his books and casually eating his food.
"So, what's out plan here?" Merideth asked as they sat down, Sora's arm reaching around Kairi's shoulders.
"We find the Keyhole," he simply replied, taking a menu with his free hand and opening it.
"Sora, you're really not going to eat something from here are you?" Kairi asked in disgust.
"Maybe," he replied. She slowly and comically took his arm off of her. They laughed about it while Sarah began a serious conversation with the dog man. They were just about to talk about a plan when—
Slam! The front door of the inn busted open revealing a teenager being led in by to robotic cops.
"Jim!" Sarah shouted, dropping the plates she was carrying and starring with wide-eyed shock at the youth and policemen.
"Okay, thanks for the lift guys," the boy said, taking one metal hand off of his shoulder, trying to walk inside. The cop swatted the hand away and pulled him back. The boy had medium length, brown hair tied into a puffy ponytail. Bangs arced and split form the center, revealing shocking, blue eyes. He wore a beat up and travel-worn, brown jacket over a black shirt. Matching black pants draped over brown and rough boots.
Cop #2 began, "We apprehended your son flying a solar vehicle in a restricted construction area—"
"—moving Violation 904, Section 15, Paragraph … er," continued Cop #1.
"Paragraph 6," Sarah Hawkins' son finished.
"Thank you," replied Cop #1.
"Don't mention it," he said sarcastically.
I'm starting to like this guy, Roxas stated.
"As you are aware, ma'am, this violates his probation, and as such—"
"I- I- I know this, but can't w- we work something—" Sarah stuttered, trying to keep her sentence going. All the customers—including Sora, Kairi and Merideth—just stared. Then, the dog man cleared his throat, coughing and hacking. He cleaned his mouth and stood up, advancing on the robotic cops very nervously.
"Um, if I may interject, I am the noted astrophysicist, Dr. Delbert Doppler. Have you heard of me? No? Well I may have a c-"
"Are you the boy's father?" Cop #1 asked.
"No, I'm just-"
"Then will you kindly BACK OFF!?" they shouted at him. Sora winced as he watched the feeble Dr. Delbert Doppler scurry away in fear. Delbert went back to his booth where he began work at finishing his food. The cops ended up finishing their conversation with Sarah and let Jim go, saying it was the last time before juvenile hall.
"Wow, that must be embarrassing," Merideth noted. Kairi nodded in agreement and turned to avoid the looks that Sarah was throwing about the room while she was chastising her son. Night was drawing on as people began to leave. Sora was ready to turn in for the night and it seemed the girls were ready too. Tomorrow they began the search for the Keyhole, and who knew how long it would take them?
Sora kind of laid back in his seat as the girls went upstairs to their room. He, of course, would be having his own room to himself. The stars began to come out and twinkle in the sky above, and little did he know that a storm was coming. He squinted as he watched something flare far off into the sky. It was hard to tell because it had begun to rain slightly, and the windows became drowned in distortion. The inn was empty now save himself, Sarah and Delbert. Sora watched as the fiery thing blasted through the atmosphere, and it was coming towards the inn. Within seconds there was a loud crash and bang that only he seemed to acknowledge. He burst out of his seat and ran for the door, not caring for confused looks that Sarah and Delbert gave him.
The rain was picking up, and it was cold. Wind howled over the harsh cliff and the rain began to pelt. He saw Jim rushing toward the smoking object. It looked like a meteor and Sora did not hesitate to run after Jim and take a look for himself. Smoke poured out from the object, and Sora soon realized it was a machine of sorts. Jim cast a glance over his shoulder and motioned Sora to hurry up. Sora did and he caught up.
"Name's James Hawkins, Jim for short," Jim said hastily as they ran to the object. It was a battered escape pod.
"Sora, good to meet ya," Sora said with a smile. They skidded to halt right in front of the pod. It steamed and hissed as pistons shot, opening the doorway into the pod. Tumbling out of it was a coughing, hacking and wheezing creature. It was slimy, old and it had a hunched back. A long neck curved out of a trench coat, and a clawed arm covered a rusty treasure chest. Yellowed eyes gleamed in the dark. His chest stumbled away from him.
"Ack! Me chest!" the salamander-like creature said in its raspy, choking voice. It crawled to it, and coughed and hacked even more. It was sick just to watch the phlegm fly from its mouth.
"Mister! Hey man, we need to get you inside!" Jim shouted over the screaming wind and drumming rain.
"Not without me chest," it growled back. "That cyborg and his band of cutthroats will have to pry it from old Billy Bones, cold, dead, claws!" he sputtered.
"Jim, get the chest while I help him," Sora ordered. Jim nodded and retrieved the box. Sora helped the rather heavy salamander off of the rocky ground. From there, they shambled back to the inn while the rain sheeted. Jim slammed the door open and Sora walked the old salamander inside. The door was shut behind, and the piercing noise became dull.
"James Pleiades Hawkins!" Sarah shouted. There was a thump from upstairs and Sora heard the girls running their way to the lobby. Sora and Jim—having sat the chest on a table—helped Billy to a chair. Sarah rushed over with a tall glass of water, letting the salamander drink up. He coughed and then reached around for his chest. Sora obliged him.
"I, we, can't let him have this. He's a coming!" Billy said, unlocking the chest and taking a round object from it. He handed it to Sora, who just watched with confusion.
"Who's after this?" Sora asked.
"His Lord, Beckett! And the cyborg! Beware the cyborg!" Billy gasped one last time, before death overtook him. There was a small shriek as Kairi watched his dead body hit the floor.
"Sora, what happened?" Kairi asked, walking down the few more stairs carefully, like she may trip on an unseen cord.
"I don't know, but Beckett is here. It seems Maleficent gave him some power," Sora stated.
"Um, excuse me, but who are Beckett and Maleficent?" Delbert asked.
"Well, it goes like this … " Sora began to explain.
"Sora! I know you're in there! Be a good lad and come outside for a moment, would you?" A cold, high, drawing voice called out from outside. Sora shut his eyes and slowly reopened them.
"That is Lord Beckett," Sora told them. He turned around and went to the front door and opened it, followed by everyone else onto the front outing, the facade above keeping them away from the rain.
"What do you want, Beckett? Sora yelled at him over the rain. He stood under an umbrella and and looked at them all with that cheeky smile.
"I think we both know the answer to that question, Sora," he began. "I want what that old pile of filth gave to one of you, and I'm betting he gave it to you, Sora. Now, hand it over, and I may spare your lives."
"Fat chance!" Sora replied.
"Why don't you crawl back to Maleficent?" Kairi added.
"Tsk, tsk," Beckett said, though it was unheard. "I thought that maybe your time spent in the Caribbean would have taught you some respect, Sora? Or were the strokes not hard enough?" Beckett asked cruelly. A sudden crack of lightning flared in the distance, silhouetting a cloud that was moving fast upon the horizon. Sora shuddered at the lightning, remembering the pain of the whip.
"I don't care what you say! I'm not handing this thing over to you! You're bad, and you will use it for bad things if I give it to you!" Sora shouted.
"If that is the case, then, Sora," Beckett shouted with new authority, "then I have to result to taking it from you." The ship he was standing on began to sail away, a large bubble surround it. He disappeared into the bowels of the ship as it blasted off into the sky.
"Well, if he's going to take it, then where is he going?" Kairi asked.
"I know … it doesn't make much sense," Merideth asked.
"Now, will someone please be kind enough as to tell me what's going on, here?" Sarah asked, her hair astray and face lined with stress.
"Well, if I say, we should go inside," Delbert said.
Crash. Shatter. Tinkle. All of this came from inside the inn. Shards of glass sprayed from the windows as Heartless crawled out of them. Yellow eyes flickered in the lightning.
"Delbert, Sarah, Jim, back off, leave this to-" Sora began as he was tackled down to the ground my a Knight. It's massive body loomed above, so akin to the Invisible. The sword whistled down but Sora rolled away in time, the thoughts of the Invisible's sword flaring through his mind. Fear seized him as he snapped his head back at his opponent just to see Kairi's Keyblade slice through its head, dissipating seconds later. She helped him up, and his worries faded away.
Merideth loosed arrow after arrow into the house, hitting her mark every time. She felt a rush every time the twang of her bowstring popped, just like her heartstrings when adrenaline coursed through her. A Heartless stumbled off the roof and landed on her, knocking her to the ground. It clawed at her left shoulder and left deep gashes in it. She squealed as fire surged through her torso. No one paid attention to her as they were fighting their own battles. Another one clawed and bit her leg, blood flowing out of her calf. She screamed as a blast rocked the inn. She was unsure of what it was; she felt dazed, and far away. She grabbed an arrow that fell from her quiver and gripped it tightly. She plunged it deep into its skull. Luckily, it didn't bleed.
She took the arrow and skewered the other one through its head. She looked up, her shoulder and leg twitching in pain, to see another Heartless swoop at her. It was a Centurion, its vast wingspan reaching outward. It carried four swords and its sharp tail flicked. She rolled away as a swipe of on of the swords missed her by an inch. Her heart thudded with anticipation and she grabbed her bow. She dodged another swipe from two more swords. She landed on her back and took aim. She released and screamed, her arrow completely missing the target. It had landed and her same injured leg was punctured form its tail. Her mind worked frantically, and she reached out blindly, grabbing a sword. She lacerated her hand, but she grabbed it nonetheless. She pried it away and she used it to cut the tail off. It vanished from her leg.
"What is this?" she asked herself. It shrieked into the night. She dropped the sword, took aim again and hit the skull. Darkness exploded and it fell to the ground, slowly fading away. Her mind was fluttering and everything faded in and out with the pain. Her hands were shaky as she groped around her pockets, hoping to find any kind of potion. She did, and it was a hi-potion. She gulped it quickly and felt most of the bad damage heal. The bleeding stopped but the pain didn't. She slowly got to her feet and she limped on the bad leg. How could one thing, just one creature do so much to her? She felt fear seize her, but under that fear was determination to help her friends. She trudged over to her weapon and felt all these feelings mix. None were strong, but none were unnoticed. She just swallowed them down, retrieved her weapon and ammo and went to help Sora and Kairi in any way she could.
Kairi hewed at yet another Heartless, and she too, limped on her scorched leg. She was determined …
Slice.
to be better at fighting …
Hack.
and to be self-dependent …
Break.
Four Heartless converged on her. She ducked under the swipe of a sword-arm of a Praetorian and sliced its stomach. It hunched forward. She dashed forward to the best of her ability and cracked in the back, but the blade only rebounded. She had forgotten that the Praetorians had armored backs. A sword sliced her right arm, and she bit back a scream; she had to be strong. She turned around to look at a Centurion. Just as it was about to take a mace and blunt her skull in, an arrow whizzed through the thing's face She let out a small squeal at the unexpectedness of it.
She would thank Merideth later, but for now she finished off the Praetorian with a deft blow to the head. Her right arm hung limply as she staggered on her right leg. One of the other Heartless clawed at her right calf and dug into the burn wound. She screamed this time and fell flat on her front. She saw a glimmer of ice as Sora fought his own fight. She twisted over and held out Destiny's Embrace. The Heartless jumped at her, gnashing black teeth. She brought her left leg and kicked it in the fork of its legs, sending it up and over her. She slumped onto her front again and brought the Key into the body of the creature. Another arrow whizzed above her and took care of the Heartless that about plunged its sword into her body.
Kairi berated herself, ashamed of how she was performing.
But you have a wounded leg, Naminé said, strained.
I realize this, so why don't you come out and help? I'll have to get better some other time.
First, I am outside with Roxas fighting fish pirates. Jones is here and we're protecting this trio. Also, no, you will get better here or never, her Nobody said wisely. Kairi cast a Cure spell and healed the wounds slightly, stopping the bleeding. Her calf seared in pain and she felt like crying, but she would not fall into that. She had to be strong, or die trying.
You also need to be more careful next time. You were overdoing it.
Noted.
Sora had just finished off a large group of Heartless with minimal effort. He had gained a few scratches, but nothing bad. That was, until, a horde of Jones' pirates burst through the wall! Shattered and splintered boards flew about the room as they came in. Cannon fire boomed outside and blasted into the inn's top floor. Fire bellowed from the stairwell, creeping down the steps. Fires raged outside.
"Merideth! Get that family out of here, Kairi and I will catch up!" Sora screamed as he began to fight off the metal swords of the pirates. Anger welled within him. How could they just mindlessly destroy the home of people they didn't know? Of the innocent? This is why he did what he did …
Parry.
to save the worlds and their innocent inhabitants …
Block.
he fought to end Maleficent's evil.
Smash.
He was flung out of the inn through a wall. He grunted in pain as his body smacked into the wet, hard rock. Blood ran down the back of his head and his vision was dominated by bright spots. The noise was dull and he felt like he had to vomit. Screaming sounded about him and he looked around. He saw the Flying Dutchman landing and Merideth being taken by pirates. Jim was also being taken, Sarah trying to follow. The pirates stopped their fighting to hold off anyone that tried to save them. Soon, Merideth and Jim were on the Flying Dutchman, and it rose slightly in the sky.
"Sora, oh god! Sora, get up!" Was that Kairi? He looked over dazedly and confirmed that it was. She brought him up and he felt the anger come back, mixed with sadness.
"FOOLS!" someone on the Dutchman shouted. Sora, regaining his awareness, deduced that it was Jones. He looked up to see old Squid-face pop over the rail. The rain was heavy and cold.
"Sora! I know you have the map!" Jones barked. What map?
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Sora shouted in response.
"You know perfectly well what it is I am talking about! Now, if you don't give me the map I'll-" and then he stopped, as if struck by some great idea.
"Ah, you know what? Bring me the map, but not here nor now. If you value your friends' lives, then bring the map to me at the Loot of a Thousand Worlds. Meet me at Treasure Planet!" Davy roared. Then he, and his flying Flying Dutchman, soared into the sky, a dark bubble surrounding it. Sora wavered on his feet and the night spun.
"Delilah! To me!" Delbert shouted over the screaming weather. A loud whinny, yelp … noise, answered back. A large creature of some sort, like a snail-chocobo, came running from near by, but some distance from the smoldering commotion that was the Benbow Inn. It was pulling a large carriage.
"Everyone get in!" Delbert ordered. Sarah just slumped on her knees, cracking them into the cold stone.
"Sarah, we have to go," Sora tried telling her after healing Kairi the best he could. She did not register him but kept staring at the burning wreckage that was her only home.
"Sarah, I promise we'll get Jim back, but for now, we have got to go," he told her, shaking her out of her moment. She looked at him with teary, red eyes. She nodded simply and entered Delbert's carriage. Sora helped Kairi in and then followed suit. Delbert seated himself in the drivers seat and they bolted away from the burning Inn.
HoL:TS
Montressor
September 7, 2010
It was almost midnight and Sora was sitting, sipping on hot tea in a very large study, sitting by a roaring fire and steadily drying himself off. Kairi sat next to him, leaning into his body as they watched Delbert pace about his messy study. Sarah sat in a corner, steadily but quietly crying.
"Well, I have talked with the police, and those Pirates have left without a trace! When I asked them about Beckett, they hurriedly shut up, so who knows what influence he has over the law?" Delbert exclaimed. "And all over that odd, little ball."
Sora looked over and reached for it. He was looking all over it with its intricate caricatures and deeply engraved lines. Parts of it, he soon discovered, moved around and shifted. It made little whirring and beeping noises, and it began to move on its own.
"In all of my vast intelligence, I have no idea how the thing works, it's baffling- hey!" Delbert shouted as Sora unlocked the sphere. In his hand it split open and a massive, holographic, three-dimensional map showed itself.
"So this was what Jones was going on about," Kairi muttered, standing next to Sora now. Delbert ran into the map and looked about like a schoolboy with too much money to spend on candy.
"Wait! This is us, the planet Montressor!" he said, pointing at a small dot.
"And this is the Mangellic Cloud. And here is the Coral Galaxy, and-" then it all vanished as a large planet came into view. Two sets of rings covered it, interlacing in an "x."
"My god, it's-" Delbert began.
"Treasure Planet!" Sora exclaimed. He then shut the map, or maybe it did it by itself.
"Well this is it! We have to go to save Merideth and Jim!" Kairi said, a smile breaking her face for the first time in years, it felt.
"Yes! Exactly! But first, we must pack, and-" he rambled on and on, running around his room jabbering more to himself than anyone else. Kairi walked over to Sora and placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at her.
"Ready for another adventure, Kairi?" he asked. She closed her eyes and kissed his cheek; her grip tightened on his shoulder.
"Yes, but I'm not ready for more pirates … not after last time," she told him. He pocket the orb and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned into his muscled chest.
"I know, Kai. I promise I will protect you. I love you," he said, his hands gliding over her back.
HoL:TS
Montressor Space Port
September 9, 2010
Sora gazed in wide-eyed wonder at the space port of Montressor. He learned that the bubbles he kept seeing were just gravitational devices, keeping the laws of physics in balance within that area. The space port was filled with everything. There were cargo ships here, luxury ships there, residence districts, shopping markets, skyscrapers, schools, everything! It was a sprawling metropolis and space port. It was here that they were to board their rented ship, the R.L.S. Legacy. When their ship landed, they got off and breathed in the warm, daytime air. Aliens and creatures of ALL sorts surrounded them. Languages he would never have known floated in the air, birds squawked and the sounds of working … things resonated. Kairi smiled radiantly and he wrapped his arm around her waist as they laughed.
"Oi, you two! Wait for me!" Delbert exclaimed, walking behind them in a very goofy, metal suit. It clanked and clonked as he took large unsteady steps towards them, looking like an ancient diver. Sora and Kairi spared a laugh at his expense as he tore the fishbowl helmet off. He coughed as he squinted his eyes and looked around for the Legacy.
"Now, where on Montressor could we find this ship?" Delbert asked aloud. Sora went to talk to someone, but they obviously did not know English. So, Delbert went and talked to the thing in its native tongue, and fluently at that.
"I know many different languages," Delbert said snobby, "and he says this way." So they followed Delbert through the many streets and alleys of the space port. After some time, they came around a corner and even Sora drew in his breath at the amazing beauty of this ship.
The R.L.S. Legacy gleamed in the sun. The white hull was brilliant and it was matched by pristine sails that were currently tied up along the tall, wooden masts. It was sleek and massive, which seemed to contradict, but Sora didn't care. A blue trimming raced all along the decks, and many windows stared out of the ship. Rigging was tight, canons in place and the crew could be seen—small as ants—working on the ship.
"That! That is the R.L.S. Legacy!" Delbert shouted.
"Oh my, Sora! That is so much better than the Dutchman!" Kairi said with a smile. She grabbed his hand and led him forcefully to the gangplank that led up to the ship. They ran up it, their feet slapping into the wood. The wind breezed through their hair. It was a fine day.
The crew was rough and gruff, but they seemed to be good at their job. Sora, out of the corner of his eye, saw a spider-like member that he instantly disliked and did not trust. He shook it off as it descended into the bowels of the ship. Then some creature with many flapping holes bumped into him. It began … yelling … at him in angry farting noises. Sora began to laugh, and Kairi slapped him in the arm, saying how rude it was. Delbert came over and replied to it, and they laughed, surprisingly.
After that ordeal, they turned to a man—a rock golem—shouting orders. He wore a red tailcoat over a white, button-up shirt. This shirt was tucked into gray, pleated pants that matched his skin. Black shoes tapped on the wooden deck. His gold-trimmed, black hat covered a fierce brow, but warm smile that said he loved his job.
"Ah, hello and well met, Captain!" Delbert said, offering his hand. It was not taken.
"Everything shipshape?" Sora asked.
"Yes, everything is shipshape, but I am not the captain. The captain is aloft," he replied with a small chuckle. There was sharp meow as feline woman landed in front of Sora and Kairi, as if from no where. She brushed off one shoulder. She had a pointed face that was very serious, with furrowed, dark brows. Short, light brown hair fell to above her shoulders. She wore a blue and gold petticoat that had a short front but long back that reached down to her calves, with white pants that were covered with black, heeled boots that reached up to her high thigh.
"Mr. Arrow," she began, addressing the golem, "I have checked this miserable ship from stern to stern and, as usual, it's … spot on. Is there anything you can do wrong?" she asked with a smile.
"You flatter me, Captain," Mr. Arrow replied with a wave of his hat.
"Ah, you must be Dr. Doppler," the captain said.
"Ah, Captain Amelia, it is a pleasure to meet you, may I introduce you to my companions, Sora and Kairi," he said. They each shook hands with her.
"Sora here is the one that unlocked the tr-" Delbert was silenced as Amelia placed a hand tightly over his mouth. She looked around at the crew with slitted eyes.
"I'd like a word with all of you in my stateroom," she growled. They received many odd looks from the crew as they followed her into the stateroom. When inside, she turned and locked them all from the outside; she pocketed the key. She strutted over to her mahogany desk and sat behind it, lifting two feet up on it and leaning back in her chair.
"Doctor, to muse and blabber about the treasure map in front of this particular … crew … demonstrates a level of ineptitude that borders on the level of imbecilic … and I mean that in a very caring way," she said with a tight smile. Sora giggled at Delbert's expense again and he looked hurt and intrigued by her manner at the same.
"May I see the map, please?" she asked of Sora. He reached into his pocket and handed it to her. She stood up in the middle of the room and watched as it projected all around, and she gazed in awe as Delbert once had.
"This is fascinating," Amelia said as she closed it. She took it to a chest and locked it withing, then turned to Sora and Kairi.
"You two are to refer to me as Captain or Ma'am, is that understood?" she asked curtly. Kairi nodded but Sora said:
"Yes, Ma'am, Captain Amelia!" he shouted with a salute to go with it. Amelia smiled with a small purr.
"Sora, I think you're going to do just fine. Which is why you are to report to the chef and do whatever he tells you for the remainder of this trip, now go before the ship sets sail," Amelia ordered. Sora opened his mouth for a second, thought better of it and then turned to leave. He used his Keyblade to unlock the door and left with Mr. Arrow escorting him.
The crew continued to give him shady looks, but he didn't mind. He was set on saving Merideth and Jim, sealing the Keyhole, and taking down Beckett if he could. Why was Jones here? He had never really questioned it before, but it made sense that Beckett must have gotten the Heart of Jones, and therefore had control of him. But what about the ship? It was now different; it seemed magically enhanced. It could fly, and the cannon fire had taken down the Inn with flames. Even the stone seemed to be on fire.
They came up to a stairway that led down into the ship. Delicious aromas wafted up to greet Sora and Mr. Arrow; they walked down the stairs. The chef was in the shadows of his kitchen, the fire of the oven casting flickering shadows in the illusion. He was humming and singing to himself, bustling about the room and preparing that night's dinner. A massive cauldron stood in the middle of the kitchen with a fire beneath it.
"Mr. John Silver, your new cabin boy is here, ready for work," Mr. Arrow monotonously said. The chef kept his back to them but called to them anyway.
"Come on in! Busy at the moment!" he shouted. Sora and Mr. Arrow walked on in and the heat hit them intensely. Sora looked around the kitchen to see an assortment of things hanging. There were different utensils and dishware, along with vegetables and meat and organs of god-knew-what. The man finally turned around and Sora gasped.
Mr. John Silver was an alien of some sort, that was fat. He wore faded clothing, a white smock covering his front. A red bandanna was tied around his head, but this wasn't the shocking part. His right arm from the shoulder to his finger tips was metal. He was switching his fingers and hand around as different utensils from knives to flamethrowers to even eggs openers. If you could think of it, his hand turned into it. His right leg was also metal, and it was pegged … how nice. His right eye was also an orb that could examine and spin around. He look Sora over with a red scanner, and it made Sora feel somewhat naked.
The cyborg was in front of him.
"Ah, do ye have a name, lad?" Silver asked.
"Sora," he replied.
"Ah, Sora. It's a fine name. Here, try some of me famous bonzabeast stew, served in a bowl of fun, for bowls are fun," Silver said, pouring them some piping hot stew with his ladle hand. Mr. Arrow rejected but Sora dipped his spoon in and came up with an eyeball! He was going to drop his spoon when it transformed into a small pink creature. It ate the eyeball and floated in the air. It was cute little, blob of jelly.
"Ah! Morph! There ye are. I been lookin' all over fer ya!" Silver said, talking to the little pink jelly thing. It giggled and zoomed around the room with speed.
"I rescued 'im when I was on … where was it … oh well. I found him and he's been with me ever since," Silver said fondly.
"Now, this is your cabin boy. The Captain wishes for him to be of decent use, so that is up to you," Mr. Arrow stated. He turned and left just as Silver was going to complain. Silver wiped his face and looked at Sora with a stern glare. But just as they were about to begin talking, a loud whistle sounded from above the deck.
"Go lad, enjoy the castoff," Silver said, whistling and humming to himself now that he was back at work. Sora did not need telling twice as her ran back up the stairs. The ship started to rise as Amelia was shouting orders to all of the crew that Delbert had hired. The massive, white sails were unfurled and they glowed with electricity. People began to float in the air until a switch was thrown and the bubble was launched. Sora slammed back into the ground onto his head. He heard laughter from behind him as Kairi helped him up. Sora took her hand and they ran to the very front end of the ship, until the railing met. The ship stopped rising and they zipped forward at amazing speed. Soon, they became used to it, and it felt normal. Massive whales flew in space alongside them and great creatures of beauty sang. The stars and planets raced by and the colors of all the worlds bathed them in their beauty.
"Sora … maybe this world won't be so bad," Kairi said, wrapping her arms around him, looking into his blue eyes.
"Maybe not, Kai," Sora replied, looking back into her violet orbs and feeling his heart hammer. They shared a kiss as the stars literally passed by, all the known and the unknown with it.
HoL:TS
I'ltorien
October 17, 2006
"It has been almost a year already, hasn't it Christina?" King asked the girl as she closed the book he had "acquired" for her all those years back. The tale of Tirion the Ashbringer. This was the first time she was actually reading the book. It was hard, really hard to read such a lengthy tale after only a year of learning how to read, but the satisfaction she got from it was immense.
"To think you managed to learn to read from scratch in so little time without teachers … You really are special, aren't you?" King teased, lovingly rubbing her locks like one would do to a puppy. Christina straight up blushed and hid her face in the cover of the book. "I was just kidding, Chris! You did wonderful!"
"I … I had teachers. The two of you," she said, face still hidden in the book. "You were too understanding and kind for someone like me … who can't even control herself when poked. You taught me so much and gave me so much to live for that I doubt I'll ever be able to repay you …" she explained, removing her violet orbs from the back of the cover of the book, shooting a soul-softening look back up.
"H-hey, now you're making me blush! We just did what friends do!" King explained, scratching the back of his head and smiling back. They sat there, staring at each other for a good minute or so before hearing the clanging of the metal. Looking upward, both King and Christina saw Eighteen sitting on the vent that lead into Christina's room with a semi-annoyed, semi-teasing look.
"Will you two just break it up? Guard patrols here in … about five minutes," she explained. Christina couldn't help but wonder just where she had been. The last few days she had not appeared with King, only to warn them about patrol.
"Guess that's about it for today. Christina, sleep tight! Tomorrow is a special day!" King told her with a strangely soft smile while he put his hands on her shoulders. "We have a surprise for you …" he added, jumping behind Eighteen and slowly walking away. Only Eighteen stayed behind, she actually jumped down to meet with Christina eye-to-eye.
"Christina, I've been meaning to say this for months now but … I'm sorry." Before Christina could say anything else, Eighteen shook her head, adding: "If it wasn't for my brother, I would have looked at you just like the others … as a monster. Even as he tried so hard to understand you, I couldn't help but seeing this part of you as a shell. But, over the past year, I could see it. Something in you I had refused to see up until now. You grew with us, you experienced joy, sadness, even more than that, you made us feel the same way. I felt … dead inside until I met you Christina. You are like family to me. You both are. Much more than my so-called one … So please, promise me you'll live." Eighteen then suddenly pulled Christina into a strong, warm hug, the confused girl being unable to say anything outside of muttering the promise while she let tears soak Eighteen's shoulders.
She could only wonder what had caused this outburst.
HoL:TS
I'ltorien
October 18th, 2006
The very next day started like many more before. It was normal for the most part, if only for the mysterious disappearance of both King and Eighteen from the eating hours and training facility. Christina at first tried to look for them, but thought it'd be best to leave them to their devices, not wanting to be one to draw unwanted attention. She simply had to wait patiently until the night, surprise or no surprise, they could only truly meet at night without any prodding eyes haunting them. And so she did.
Like clockwork, King dropped from the ceiling just as the third guard patrol passed through Christina's cell. Christina stood up from her bed to greet him, but she saw a graver expression on King's face.
"Christina … I need you to listen," he told her in the most serious tone he had ever directed her.
"Something wrong?" she asked. King shook his head.
"It's not that. Christina, you've noticed Eighteen hasn't been with us recently, right?" he asked, the girl nodding. "She's been looking for a way to get us out of here. Yesterday, she said she found one," Christina was stunned still at the information. Eighteen had found a way out?! That was possible?! "But … she 'neglected' to tell me what it was. Christina, only the two of us are going," he broke it down to her in a simple phrase that crushed all her brewing joy.
"What? We can't! Why would we ever leave her behind? S-she told me we were her family!" As Christina's hands moved to her mouth, King grabbed her right palm and looked her in the eyes.
"It's now or never. I'll explain why I agreed to this as we go. Now, do you want to stay here forever or are you at least going to try?" he asked her. She didn't like what she was doing … but she wanted to see the sun with her own eyes. If King had a reason, she trusted him with her life if he asked. With that, they jumped up to the air vents, Christina almost having a heart attack when she saw someone waiting for them. It was only after giving the person a second look that she recognized her.
Wearing a white zipped coat with a turtleneck sweater beneath, a short skirt, pale pink hair and aqua blue eyes, it was one of the eldest of the facility … one that had been released a few months ago. Christina remembered this girl being one of her sister's best, and by that We mean only, friends beside the two of them.
"Christina, meet Éclair, she's part of the reason why I accepted to go with this idea," King explained. The older teen only nodded, signaling them to follow before talking in a husky tone:
"If you are wondering why your sister as she likes to call herself isn't here it's because you should give her the most sincere of thanks," Éclair said as the two of them followed. "First, she contacted me by carrier pigeon. It's a miracle how she got to the area to do so unscathed, but that's something for another time. She asked me a very, very big favor. While she raised a commotion at the northern entrance to the facility, faking an escape, I'd lead you west, to the cargo entrance where nearly no one passes and give you a clear escape into the city …"
"Wait … no! They'll kill her!" exclaimed Christina, stomping the ground in defiance. Éclair, very annoyingly, turned back and spat:
"She's the eldest daughter of Cid Del Norte Marquez, the one IN CHARGE of the facility! They will NEVER shoot to kill the daughter of their boss, they risk getting themselves or their kids thrown into the facility as revenge," Éclair explained, not helping Christina's state of mind that much.
"Éclair isn't making things up. She heard Cid converse about that a couple of weeks ago … hence why our sis tried to even do this. Listen Christina, there's more to her plan. She has the greatest synchronization with her Esper of all of us, especially so for you. This means that she'll leave the facility in a year or less. We would be stuck here for much longer. If we can take advantage of her being here and just get you out … we can run away from the Empire, find a remote village on the other side of the world, get a house and just live out the rest of our lives in peace. I'm sure our sister would manage to escape the moment they'd give her enough authority to walk alone on the outside … she'd just need to find us." He grabbed both of Christina's hands. "She's sacrificing herself for us. Don't let the pain she'll go through now be in vain Christina … let's do this for the future!"
"I …" Christina began before hearing a massive explosion that shook the very ground of where they stood.
"What the hell happened?!" one of the guards exclaimed in-between the stampede of feet that came across the halls, the vents amplifying the sound of the voices.
"The director's daughter went ballistic! She's slaughtering the guards left and right!" a more experienced voice said, the warden's voice suddenly erupting in an announcement.
"Attention all units, concentrate on the northern exit, we have a rogue one. However, DO NOT kill the rebel. It is one of our finest specimens. The less injured she ends up the less Cid will annoy my ass, so don't you dare having fun with her when you're done!" barked the warden. While this didn't quite suit Christina, she at least had realized that yes, they didn't want to KILL Eighteen … and that was enough to push her forward.
"I- Thank you, please be safe …" Christina wished as she, King and Éclair made their way through the ventilation shoots.
After a few minutes, Christina and King found themselves waiting for Éclair to end scouting the cargo haul. After a thumbs up from the older teen, they both jumped down into the cargo haul, instantly being disgusted by what they saw. Bodies in tubes everywhere the eye could see. They all exhibited mortal injuries, some of which King and Christina knew too well of. They themselves had done them during the last two weeks of battles … however something was different. Instead of dead tissue, what could be seen as a variety of stones that varied from person to person.
"So it's true," King spat, disgusted at the sight. Christina could feel the bile on her throat.
"Aye. When people like us die, we turn into magicite, whatever that is. I just know it's the most procured material for the Empire. So … the cargo haul is more or less a morgue really," Éclair said, clearly disgusted by the treatment of the dead. "They are chopped to pieces once they are matured and used as power cells. It's inhumane."
"No …" Christina began, touching one of the glasses and looking into the nearly crystallized body of the last person to fall at her hands. "I'm so sorry …"
They didn't have time to grieve too much of it thought though. For in mere seconds, the gates to the cargo haul were knocked down even after Éclair had locked them. From there came a veritable squadron of guards, all of them armed to the teeth with magic-nullifying sabers they used to strike fear into anyone in the facility.
"General Éclair Farron … Lord Kefka had warned us of your betrayal. I never enjoyed working below a stuck-up bitch that's barely legal to pleasure a real man," the guard said, smiling a sick, lustful grin. "I doubt she could barely do the job ..." he finished, spitting at her feet. The guard shouted, leading Éclair to go for her weapon on reflex.
"Christina, to the exit, now!" King ordered, taking battle position.
"But-"
"Open the gates, we'll be right there!" he assured with a smile. "Please?"
"Okay …" ignoring her bad feeling about it all, Christina rushed to the gates, intending to blow them open with her fire magic. That was until she felt an unusual spurt of mana behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she cringed at the fact that both King and Éclair had vanished from her eyesight, covered by the bodies of the encroaching guards. However, the streaming mana was far too familiar… she knew it, it was just in far bigger quantity than she had ever felt. Suddenly, around a dozen just flew back from the formation, leaving King to stand tall in the center of the entire platoon. Something was strange about him, as in, his mana was VISIBLE. This was something she had only seen herself ever do, but unlike her's, the mana wasn't violet but instead it was pure gold so bright it was hard to look at King inside it.
"What the hell? Wasn't this guy's synchronization ratio one of the lowest?! How's even in here with this kind of power," one of the guards barked, causing King to smile.
"Appearances may be deceiving. You assumed I WANTED to get out!" King exclaimed, pouring the truth for the first time. Christina suddenly realized what King had done. Hide away his mana, even inside battles, just to stay inside longer. Truth be told, she felt that the amount of power he exuded was still nothing compared to what she was when she … lost it, but it was still enough to clearly buy him a ticket out. "I wouldn't leave them here alone. Especially her,"
"Spare me the mushy bullshit! Rabble, you have permission to use magicite phasers!" their commander exclaimed. Christina shivered. Magicite Phasers were made to kill anything even slightly magically infused by burning away at mana. King's grin made her not doubt him though.
"That's it? If you want to go all out, then I'll do it too! Behold, the golden dragon that causes the heavens to tremble!" his aura exploded at the same time his right hand lowered itself, his left covering his heart.
"FIRE!" the commander ordered. Far too late.
"ROZAN… SHO RYU HA!" King bellowed, thrusting his arm upwards with all the power he had accumulated riding behind the flow. In tandem, his mana expanded and erupted upwards, taking with it every single one of the soldiers as they cried and contorted. Seconds later, the mana took the form of a long, serpentine golden dragon that pierced the ceiling of the facility and continued on into the skies. After a few more seconds, the mana around King and the stream upwards started to crystallize, doing so at first slowly and then in an instant, encompassing everything in it. Christina looked in awe at how the beautiful golden crystal glimmered in the sunlight, tears streaming down her face as she had finally put her eyes on the true sun where all light stemmed from. Her eyes didn't even burn at how beautiful it was. After moments that felt like forever, the dragon shattered into a million glistening pieces which fell all around King, who was still heavily breathing from the effort. As soon as he got his breath together, he looked back at Christina and smiled.
Wiping her tears, Christina smiled back and decided to go and break the door.
Bang.
King's eyes widened as his body convulsed forward. For a moment, Chistina could swear he had muttered "Run…" Christina was shocked in place as King turned back to see Éclair's unmoving emotionless eyes lock on to his shoulder. His shoulder exploded in red liquid. And then his abdomen, his right leg and finally, another shot to the chest, this straight where his heart was.
King fell to his knees as Christina abandoned all will to escape and just cried out King's name as her magic went haywire. Éclair didn't even move, she just looked on as Christina bawled around King's unmoving body.
"Wake up! D-don't leave me now! I can't run away without you! I-I can't live without you two … please … don't die for me … PLEASE!" she cried, mana-brimming tears falling into King's body, ridding the surface of any apparent injury and removing the bullets, but even under this kind of healing magic, King did not move, he did not breathe. "W-why… why did you do this?!" she yelled at Éclair, her sanity slowly dripping away.
"A higher up told everyone at the force that he'd grant a wish to anyone who rid his pet of the 'nuisances' that had latched on to it. I have a sister in this facility. She's not battle-ready like me. He died so that Serah could live. Sorry, but I was not going to risk this chance. Lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place," she said, changing something in her gun-like weapon before pointing it at Christina herself. "And now you sleep,"
Bang.
HoL:TS
Among the Stars
September 20, 2010
"Éclair!" Christina yelled as she jolted up from her sleep.
"That dream again?" Tiki's reverberating voice questioned as the dragon flew through the sea of stars with the Esperkin.
"Sorry Tiki it's just that … I really miss them. And while my sister is likely still alive, he's…" she began, biting her bottom lip. Tiki sighed, as if she was about to say something that she may end up regretting.
"Christina… "
"Tiki, is that I'ltorien?" Christina asked, pointing towards the encroaching sphere that she had committed to memory almost two months ago. If there was something she needed right now, it was her new friends.
"Yeah! Let's hurry, shall we?!" Tiki said, forcefully flipping the switch in her personality. She knew Christina would find out soon enough.
HoL:TS
I'ltorien
October 18, 2006
"Well, I guess that's that…" Éclair said, shaking her head and turning away from the supposed dead body and the sleeping girl. Then, she felt a chill up her spine. At first, she tried to turn back, but soon found her boots instantly crystallizing. Unable to move, she could only look back, not believing her eyes. King was standing up, albeit his knees were still bent, his arms were extended downwards and his eyes were hidden behind his hair. "Don't make this harder than this has to be!" she exclaimed, pointing her gun once again towards King, this time towards his head. Before she could shoot however, a hand diverted her gun. She looked to side and gasped:
"Commander Orlandeu?" Cidolfus Orlandeu didn't stand to ceremony, instead, he simply moved towards King, unafraid of any movements. He extended his hand and touched his shoulder, receiving no response, he even appeared to expect this.
"He is already unconscious," he said, looking down to see how King had gone unconscious while standing right in front of Christina's fallen body. "Impressive resolve for someone so young and so scarred… Unlike some others," he directed the last part towards Éclair, who was just snapped back.
"My sister is more important to me tha-"
Slap!
"Get a hold of yourself woman!" Cidolfus boomed, retrieving his hand. "I know you are but fifteen, but you are also a general! Act like one. I can understand your desire to see your sister. I can forgive you for being deceived by Kefka, but I CANNOT forgive dishonor!" he exclaimed, hand on the Excalibur. However, what shocked Éclair was not that, but the second accusation.
"Deceived…?" she muttered, not wanting to believe it.
"Never has Kefka been in front of these projects. For that cause, he has no right to remove people from the facility. In your childish blindness to save your sister, you fell right into his machinations. I pray you grow from this experience," Cidolfus said just before turning back to King.
"What are you going to do with him?" Éclair suddenly asked, something that seemed regret slowly creeping up.
"He has shown both the power and attitude that is valued in this country. I shall take him under my wing. Perhaps a fairy tale's ending is not impossible yet…"
HoL:TS
I'ltorien
September 20, 2010
"Big brother!"
"Big broooother!"
"BIG BROTHER!"
"Waterga!"
King's awakening was all but soft, as you can probably imagine. Before he knew it, he was nearly swimming in his bed in the coldest water he could conceive, Cuore floating just above him, her look strangely concerned.
"Something… wrong Cu?" he groggily asked, trying to sit back up.
"You were… leaking…" Cuore said, still concerned.
"WH-"
"I was referring to your eyes," she hastily corrected, touching his cheek to remove a single drop of what King thought to be water before shoving it in his mouth. It was salty. "See?"
"Don't worry Cuore… I just… get some nightmares sometimes, is all," King explained, causing the most curious of reactions.
"Nightmares?" questioned Cuore, the worrisome expression substituted by big, googly eyes that hungered for knowledge.
"You know, bad dreams?" King explained, having no real other comparison to use.
"… Dreams? I do remember reading prose that contained reference to such things." she said as she forced her mind?
"You… never dreamed before?" King asked, Cuore just looked up and shook her head.
"Can you tell me about dreams Big Brother? I would greatly appreciate the ges- I mean, pleaaaaaase!" She had learned well… She was too cute to say no when she did the puppy eyes like she was now.
"Alright, let me just dry up and we can tell you a bedtime story!" King told her, slowly getting out of bed. As he did though, he glanced out his balcony, a single shining star descending from the skies. For some reason, he felt compelled to watch the star fall down all the way into what seemed to be Mìelthrì Forest, an unwitting smile plastered on his face. Then he heard Cuore calling for his name, the little girl more than impatient.
"I'm going Cu! I'm going!" without him noticing, a shroud of doubts had somehow lifted from his heart.
HoL:TS
Aboard the Legacy
September 25
In the past eighteen days, Sora had done a lot of work and made some enemies. Of those enemies, there was Scroop the Spider. Sora really did not like his menacing ways, how he sneaked around and was very to himself, with his own devious plans. It was simple, Sora did not trust him. But, aside from that, Sora did not see much of Kairi and had worked like a dog the entire time. He and Silver had actually grown on each other. Every time Sora was working his butt off, Silver was there to make it more enjoyable. Sora learned more of Silver's past and they learned a lot together. Sora had soared through space on a speeder with him and they had become rather good friends. Right now, Sora was scrubbing outside of Amelia's room when she barreled out of it.
"We're almost there, it's on the horizon," Amelia shouted. Everyone ran to the sides of the ship and gazed to the distance. There it was, the planet of two rings, writing with its hoards of treasure. The ship rocked heavily, throwing everyone onto the deck.
"Amelia!" Delbert yelled, running out of her stateroom. "The star Pelusa! It's going supernova!"
Everyone looked to behind them, where a star was shrinking and growing, not being able to stabilize itself. Massive flares and rocks of fire spewed from it, screaming into the ship.
"EVASIVE ACTION!" Amelia screamed. She ran to the wheel to take control herself as she shouted orders to Mr. Arrow to translate to the crew.
"Prepare lifelines!" Mr. Arrow shouted. Everyone was given rope and were ordered to knot them to a fasting on the mast. The ship weaved and sunk beneath massive asteroids being launched from the star. A particularly big one hit the stern of the ship, sending it in the wrong course. Then, from out of nowhere, there was a massive explosion, sending the ship flying in one direction, away from Treasure Planet. Everyone was thrown about, and even Sora was thrown overboard. His lifeline pulled tautly, keeping him from falling into space and dying. Silver peeked his head over and started pulling him up, slowly but surely. Sora pulled himself over the railing as the ship steadied out, reverting its course back to Treasure Planet.
"That was a close one, wasn't it, Sora?" Silver asked.
"Yeah, too close. Where's Kairi?" he asked. Silver pointed towards the starboard where she was just getting up from a nasty fall.
"You okay, Kai?" Sora asked worriedly. She reached down and touched her injured leg.
"I'll be fine, Sora," she replied.
"No, you need to tell me if you're hurt, I can hel-"
"No. I'm fine and I can take care of myself. Let's go check on everyone else," she told him. He nodded as the ship lurched violently again.
"What devilry is this, now?" Amelia asked exaggeratedly. Delbert was there for the answer.
"It's turning into a black hole!" he shouted. Sora groaned in annoyance as he watched them sail into the black hole. Backwards.
"Secure all sails!" Amelia shouted. She then began to talk furiously with Delbert. Sora ran and climbed up the masts, securing the sails roughly. Silver was there too, but he nearly fell, had Sora not been there. The ship began to turn and turn, spinning and spinning.
"All sails secured, Captain!" Mr. Arrow happily announced.
"Release all sails!" she shouted. The entire crew looked disbelievingly at her before grunting and releasing the sails. "Hold on everyone! We're going to ride the big one out!" She was, of course, referring to the explosions occurring from the center of the black hole. They rocked the ship violently.
"Sora! Secure all the lifelines!" Mr. Arrow shouted at him. He nodded and began running around the deck to the best of his abilities. He tightened every knot as much as he could when, suddenly, the ship flipped upside down and then reverted. A lot of the crew was thrown overboard, Sora included. The lifelines were held securely … just as he had left them.
But Scroop wasn't happy with Sora. No, he was on one of the masts and looking down as Mr. Arrow was slowly climbing back up his rope. Lightning flashed in the storm of the black hole, silhouetting his dark figure. With a grim and sick cackle, he cut Mr. Arrow's lifeline with his claws, killing him. He threw the remaining rope overboard, and no one was the wiser.
When everyone was safely on board, Amelia ordered them to hold on. All was quiet, and then a massive shock wave unlike any other sent them flying from the storm of the black hole, all the way to the orbit of Treasure Planet. Sora felt dazed, but he got over it as he tried to find Kairi.
"Oh, thank god that you're okay," Sora said, kissing her and holding her close to him.
"Is everyone accounted for, Mr. Arrow?" Amelia asked, standing from the wheel. He never replied, which was very unlike him, Sora thought. He looked around and could not find him.
"Mr. Arrow?" she reiterated.
"Captain …" came the sick voice of Scroop. Sora, with distaste, looked over and—with horror—found that he was carrying a broken rope. Fear seeped into him.
"I'm sorry captain, but it seems that Mr. Arrow's lifeline … was not secured," he said. A nasty grin flickered towards Sora, but he never saw it. He was too busy looking up at Amelia.
"He has been lost."
"Captain! No! I checked all the lines. I secured them all!" Sora shouted, ripping his own off and running around the deck, rechecking them. Sora could not describe the feelings inside of him. Fear, sadness, confusion, and anger. That was about all he could think of as he was baffled at how Mr. Arrow's lifeline was gone. He KNEW he had checked them all.
"No! I checked them ALL!" Sora shouted. He looked up to Amelia with guilt, anger … everything in his heart. "You have to believe me."
She never said anything to him, but he could see the devastaing hurt in her eyes. She remover her hat, and said some words in his honor.
"Mr. Arrow was a fine spacer … finer than most of us here. He knew the risks, as do we all, and he ran forward head strong, no matter the task. He was a great man and friend, and he will be sorely missed," she simply said. "Get ready to make leave for the planet."
HoL:TS
Later that night …
Silver came up to Sora and laid his hand on him. They were on the deck.
"It's not your fault, lad," he said. Sora looked up to him.
"I know, because I CHECKED those lines!" he yelled back. It was only Sora, Kairi and Silver on the deck now.
"Son, we all make mistakes, it's not the end of the world," and he went away, to leave Kairi and Sora alone. Sora walked over to the end of the ship, and stared at Treasure Planet. Kairi walked up beside him and wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her head into his back. His hands gripped the railing tightly while his brain tried to work things out.
"Sora, it really isn't your fault, it-"
"I know, Kai!" he shouted, flinging his hands off the railing and walking away, breaking her grip off of him. "I'm just so confused as to why and HOW his line broke. I made sure to tighten them all!" he snapped at her. He looked and saw the hurt cross her eyes. He immediately stopped and waled to her. He hugged her and rested his head on hers.
"I'm sorry, Kai. I didn't mean to yell. I'm just so … I don't know," he said to her, softly. Her arms embraced him as well.
"It's okay, Sora. I would be angry and confused as well. But Silver is right … no one is perfect," she told him. They stood hugging each other until they heard cannon fire. Soon after, the Legacy was rocked with cannonballs. Sora and Kairi let go of each other and looked out to see the Flying Dutchman soar up to them, with all of its magically enhanced features. There was Jones and he shouted to them:
"Take that as a warning shot! Now, I have a new condition. I don't need the map, I just followed you out here, simple as that. I don't need that stupid map, that's what Beckett wants. What I want is Kairi. Either hand her over or I kill the two young ones on my ship! Now, what will you take!?"
TUH: I rewrote this I'ltorien for you guys. Thank me!
TN: And I suffered through more Disney. But it's the last world!
TUH: You made a necessary sacrifice.
TN: Don't we all?
TUH: So for the people who don't know Japanese: "Rozan Sho Ryu Ha- Rozan's Nascent Dragon Wave"
TN: Well, we'll see you in the next chapter ...
Chapter XXI: Taken
TUH: Starring Liam Neeson ...
May the Love of Anuwëy guide you when all Hope is lost